Putter Head

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to golf clubs. More particularly, the invention relates to the club heads of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, specialty clubs and/or putters containing a lenticular lens for obtaining proper positioning of the golfer relative to the club. The invention also related to methods of using the clubs to obtain proper positioning of the golfer to the club.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to golf clubs. More particularly, the invention relates to the club heads of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, specialty clubs and/or putters containing a lenticular lens for obtaining proper positioning of the golfer relative to the club and the intended target line. The invention also related to methods of using the clubs to obtain proper positioning of the golfer to the club and intended target line.

BACKGROUND

When learning the game of golf, an instructor will generally first teach the concepts of GAP: Grip, Alignment and Position. To help in alignment and positioning, many clubs, such as a driver, have scribed into their top side a straight line, a chevron, an arrow or other indicia allowing the golfer to line the club and the ball with the intended target line. After lining up the club and ball the golfer then attempts to obtain the proper position of his body; hands, feet, shoulders, hips, etc. relative to the intended target line. As a further alignment method, the lines in the face of an iron can be used to help position the club perpendicular to the intended target line, although this method is more difficult than merely having a straight line inscribed on the club head to “point” in the intended direction. Alignment and position are particularly important in putting where alignment and positioning are absolutely crucial. A number of technologies have been put forth that allow the golfer to properly align the putter with the ball along the intended target, including scribed lines, arrows, a row of circles, putter extensions and the like, for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,125 to Helmstetter, et al.

Although alignment of clubs toward an intended target or target line has been addressed, very little has been proposed to help the golfer position him- or herself in relation to the club and ball and/or the target line when addressing the ball. Often a golfer will position himself too close to the club and the resulting golf shot creates a “shank” in which the ball is struck not by the club face but by the golf shaft or the area into which the golf shaft is positioned in the golf club head wherein the ball will be directed to the right of the target line. Additionally a golfer often will position himself too far away from the club resulting in a “toed” shot. Neither of these two golf shots provides acceptable results. While putting, if a golfer stands too close to the ball generally the result will be in a push of the ball away from the target line; if the In addition, during the course of a round of golf, the club can inch toward and/or away from the golfer without the golfer even realizing that the repositioning is happening. There may be many reasons for this, such as, for example, fatigue, loss of concentration and the like, such deviations being undetectable until the golfer has hit a poor shot, the result letting him or her know the club was too close or too far away. Thus there is a need for a golf club, and a method, for a golfer to consistently position himself properly throughout the course of a complete round.

All golf club manufacturers strongly recommend that golf clubs be fitted to each individual golfer. Since every golfer is unique, these adjustments are designed to allow the clubs to be perfectly aligned with the golfer. Typical adjustments include adjusting the lie so that the sole of the club will be parallel to the ground when the golfer positions himself at address which determines the distance the club is from the golfer. After the fitting there is no way for the golfer to know that he or she is still in the same address position as he or she was during the fitting, and as stated above, during a golf round, a golfer can easily find himself deviating from the “perfect” address posture that was used when the clubs were fit to him or her.

Each club is different in its proper position relative to an individual golfer. For example, the head of a 3-iron will be positioned further away from the golfer than the head of a 9-iron. This is generally due to the fact that the shaft of a 3-iron is longer than the shaft of a 9-iron. The shaft length is a further adjustment that is made for each individual golfer during the fitting process. Thus a golfer will need to know and remember that a 3-iron is a certain distance away from him, a 4-iron is a little closer, and so on. These small adjustments to a golfers address are very difficult to determine for the average golfer with any consistency during a round of golf.

Another area of positioning for a golfer is in relation to his or her front foot. As an example, using a longer club, such as a 3-iron, the ball is placed closer to the front foot, for example, 1 inch behind the front foot, while a ball may be positioned directly in between the front and back foot when using, for example, a 9-iron. Again, as is often the case, a golfer forgets or does not realize that the ball position is improper until it is too late and he or she hits it either fat or thin resulting in a less than desirable shot. Since all golfers are unique, and what works for some, does not work for others, individual adjustments need to be made. Some golfers like to have the ball further back in their stance than another golfer using the same club with the same shaft length. Thus there is a need for a golf club which provides an individual golfer the ability to consistently obtain proper positioning of the club, both in the distance from the golfer and in positioning of the club relative to his or her front foot so that he or she can consistently position the ball in the proper place, determinable by placing the club at address and see that the correct, desirable position has been reached.

Of all the strokes in a game of golf, the stroke which requires the most exacting alignment is the putting stroke. While most clubs can be slightly misaligned to the intended target line or the golfer may be slightly out of position in relation to the club or from the intended target line without resulting in a poor shot, in the case of the putter, alignment and positioning are crucial to an acceptable shot. For example, a standard golf ball is 1.680 in. in diameter and a standard golf hole is 4.25 in. in diameter. When the golf ball is putted, the center of the golf ball needs to end up inside the cup, given a proper speed, in order for the ball to fall into the hole. If a golfer is 5 feet from the hole, a deviation in the desired putter alignment or desired golfer positioning of just 4 degrees will cause the center of the ball to roll outside the edge of the cup and therefore not fall in, given proper speed, proper stroke and properly desired direction (adjusting for variations in the putting surface).

In a round of golf, theoretically, fully 50% of all shots use a putter. Many golfers struggle to putt consistently and successfully. The generally accepted putting practice calls for the golfer to position his or her eyes directly on top of the line of the putt and slightly behind the ball to maximize the golfer's ability to contact the golf ball cleanly and accurately. When a golfer's eyes are directly on top of the line of the putt, the resulting alignment angle is 0 degrees, neither in front of nor behind the putter head and directly on top of the putter head and intended target line. Increasing the consistency of the golfer's eye position on top of the intended target line increases the likelihood that the golfer will roll more putts along the intended, established target line and yield a higher percentage of successful putts. However, if a golfer places his or her eyes inside or outside of the aim line of the putt, undesirable alignment angles result, which can lead to pushed or pulled putts. Many golfers do not realize that their alignment angle is off target until a teaching professional or experienced golfer identifies the alignment flaw. To properly find the correct alignment and positioning of the golfer to the putter, all professional golf instructors teach that the golfer's eyes must be directly on top of the intended target line, which can include the ball and the putter as an extension of the intended target line. Once it is established that the head is over the target line and, by extension, over the putter head, the golfer can then align the rest of his body, hands, feet, hips, shoulders, etc. with the intended target line. Having the perfect target line, but having poor positioning of the head, eyes, feet, etc, will rarely result in a successful putt.

Existing putters typically include some form of an alignment line on the upper surface of the putter for assisting the alignment of the strike surface of the putter with the golf ball and the intended target line. Alignment lines vary in length, width, shape and style, but typically do not assist a golfer in properly aligning his or her eyes on top of the putter and the target line of the putt. Further, many existing putters provide poor weight distribution which can lead to inadvertent and undesirable shifting or misalignment of the strike face of the putter during the putting stroke, which can also lead to missed putts and/or pushed or pulled putts. U.S. Pat. No. 8,128,505B2 to Tryner et al address the problem of alignment of the golfer's eyes over the putter by designing a putter that has an overhang on the top surface of the putter that contains a slot through which a sight line can be seen by the golfer. This design is specific to the golf club and is very limiting in the type, style and utility of the putter. It is also very bulky and adds weight to the putter, which not all golfers desire and is not conducive to blade putters, only mallet style putters. Additionally the alignment mechanism cannot be adjusted to custom fit every individual golfer.

Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 8,133,126 to Pouliot et al, describes an alignment mark offset from a putter head that allows the golfer to align his or head laterally with the target line, that is, neither too far forward nor too far behind the intended target line. However no description of how the golfer can ensure his or her head is directly on top of the putter head is disclosed. As mentioned above each club is positioned according to its utility from driver, furthest away from the golfer to the putter.

Thus, a continuing need exists for golf clubs, including a putter that assists the golfer in aligning himself with the club by aligning his or her eyes directly on top of the putter and the target line of the putt.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a graphic depiction of a lenticular lens and how it works.

FIG. 2 is a graphic depiction of some of the geometric and physical parameters of a lenticular lens.

FIG. 3 is a further graphic depiction of other geometric and physical parameters of a lenticular lens.

FIG. 4 is a graphic depiction of a golfer using a putter with lenticular lens which provides one indicia when positioned one way and another indicia when positioned another way.

FIG. 5 is a graphic depiction of an iron as used in golf showing a lenticular lens on the top portion of the club head.

FIG. 6 is a graphic depiction of a golf club having a hollow cavity into which a lenticular lens is inserted in the top portion and the images are applied to the top side of the sole portion.

FIG. 7 is a graphic depiction of a golfer with his eyes on top of a putter A and misaligned B.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to the club heads of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, specialty clubs and/or putters containing a lenticular lens for obtaining proper alignment and positioning of the golfer to the club and to the intended target line. The disclosure also relates to methods of using the clubs containing the disclosed club heads to obtain proper positioning of the golfer to the club and alignment of both the golfer and club to the intended target line.

In a first embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head containing a club head having a body having a face portion, a top portion, a sole portion and a rear portion and containing at least one lenticular lens arranged on the top portion of the golf club with indicia to allow positional alignment when in use.

In a second embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiment wherein the lenticular lens is capable of undergoing a change indicating that the club user is directly on top of the club head, when in use.

In a third embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiment wherein the lenticular lens is positioned in a recess in the top surface of the club.

In a fourth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiments wherein the at least one lenticular lens is a film, a coating, a label, a printing or an embossing.

In a fifth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiments, wherein the at least one lenticular lens provides for a left and right alignment of the golfer's head in relation to the club head, forward and back alignment of the golfer's head in relation to the club head, or both.

In a sixth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiments, wherein the at least one lenticular lens reveals differences in colors, logos, images, pictures, geometric shapes, lines, or other indicia or combinations thereof from different angles when in use.

In a seventh embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiments wherein the at least one lenticular lens is removably attached to the golf club.

In an eighth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a putter-type golf club head of the above embodiments wherein each of the portions define a central cavity in at least a part of the top portion revealing at least a part of the sole portion and wherein the at least one lenticular lens is positioned in the top portion of the golf club and indicia are printed on the top surface of the sole portion to allow positional alignment when in use.

In a ninth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a method of putting a golf ball comprising the steps of: obtaining a putter having the putter-type club head of any of the above embodiments, aligning the putter to the intended target, using the at least one lenticular lens to align the golfer's eyes over the putter head and putting the golf ball.

In a tenth embodiment, disclosed and claimed herein is a method of putting a golf ball comprising the steps of: obtaining a putter having the putter-type club head of any of the above embodiments, aligning the putter to the intended target, using the at least one lenticular lens to align the golfer's eyes over the putter head, positioning the golfer's alignment relative to the golfer's eyes over the putter head to a desired alignment determined by a display of a desired indicia through the lenticular lens, and putting the golf ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the conjunction “and” is intended to be inclusive and the conjunction “or” is not intended to be exclusive unless otherwise indicated. For example, the phrase “or, alternatively”, is intended to be exclusive.

As used herein, the term “and/or” refers to any combination of the foregoing elements including using a single element

As used herein the term “himself” refers to both himself and herself and is not meant to point out any one sex in preference to another sex.

As used herein the phase “on top of” refers to a position that is essentially perpendicular to an object's surface.

As used herein the terms “image” and “indicia” are used interchangeably. Disclosed and claimed herein is a golf club head containing a body having a face portion, a top portion, a sole portion and a rear portion and containing at least one lenticular lens arranged on the top portion of the golf club with indicia to allow positional alignment when in use. The lens may alternatively be arranged in a recess in the top portion of the golf club head.

In the case of a putter-type club head, the lenticular lens, properly arranged on the putter head, allows the position of the golfer's eyes to be essentially perpendicular to the putter-type golf club head, and, by extension, the golfer's shoulders, hips, feet, etc. parallel to the intended target line. As used herein, when discussing alignment and positioning, when the golfers eyes are over the ball, it is intended that the eyes are also over the intended target like since, if the club is positioned properly, the club and target line are both integral to each other.

A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different indicia are magnified. The most common example of the lenses is to make images or colors that appear to change as the image is viewed from different angles.

The lenses can be made from an extruded plastic sheet which is then embossed with columns of tiny corrugations called lenticules. Alternatively the lens can be prepared using inkjet printing, offset printing, gravure, flexography and other methods of printing structured arrays of materials. Typical materials used in preparing lenticular lens are the various PETs, amorphous as well as glycol modified PET, acrylic, polycarbonate, polystyrene, PVC and the like. Generally any optical grade material can be used which maintains a suitable refractive index.

The curvature or angle of the lenticule is important to keep in mind when selecting the proper lens. When small deviations need to be detected, small image interlaces along with highly curved lenticules and high refractive index materials need to be coordinated. In the case of a putter-type golf club head, the tolerance is relatively small with a window of from about 1 to about 5 degrees deviation in appearance and disappearance of the desired indicia.

The lenticules are generally all essentially the same size and are spaced equally across the sheet, although variations of these parameters may also be used. The other side of the sheet generally remains smooth although variations may be engineered into the backside as desired. Indicia may be printed on the back side of the lenticular lens or they may be situated a desired distance below the lens. The images are generally interlaced, that is, they are split into sections and alternately aligned between each other, such as, A-B-A-B-A-B, with the A sections creating one image when seen through the lens at one angle and B being another image when seen through the lens at a different angle.

The images useful in the current disclosure may be different colors, images, logos, scenes, portraits, and geometric shapes, lines of various thicknesses, arrows, or other indicia or combinations of them and can be such images as alignment lines.

Turning to FIG. 1, a lenticular lens, 10, is positioned over two interlaced images, 12, the darker image, and, 22, the lighter image. When a golfer is positioned in the desired proper position in relation to the golf club, for example, over to top of a putter-type club head, 14, the image, 12, is seen along sight lines 16. When the golfer's position is not in the desirable position, 18, the image image, 22, is seen along sight lines, 20.

To determine the proper dimensions of the reticular lens for the current disclosure the following calculations can be made.

Referring to FIG. 2,

$R = {A - {\arctan \left( \frac{p}{h} \right)}}$

wherein R is the angle of the extreme light ray and the normal at the point where the ray exits the lens, p is the pitch, or width, of each lenticular lens, and h is the thickness of the substrate below the curved portion of the lens and:

$A = {\arcsin \left( \frac{p}{2r} \right)}$

wherein r is the radius of curvature of the lenticule.

The observable angle O, referring to FIG. 3, is:

O=2(A−I)

Wherein,

$I = {\arcsin \left( \frac{n\; \sin \; (R)}{n_{a}} \right)}$

Wherein n is the refractive index of the lenticular material and n_(a) is the refractive index of air, or 1.003.

Thus to reduce the observable angle the following parameters can be changed: use lenticular materials of higher refractive index, increase the radius of curvature of the lenticular lens, and increase the thickness of the lens. Those skilled in the optical arts will appreciate that other parameters can be altered to either increase or decrease the observable angle as desired.

The lenticular lenses of the current disclosure include lenses that may be 2 dimensional, that is, when a golfers head moves left or right relative to the club head and parallel to the intended target line, an image appears or disappears while at the same time if the golfer movers forward or back, perpendicular to the intended target line an image appears or disappears. In this way the golfer will know if his or her head is directly on top of the club head and, therefore, the intended target line as well as if his or her head is in front or in back of the club head.

The lenticular lens of the current disclosure are generally attached to the top surface of the club so that it can be seen by the golfer. It can be permanently attached to the club head in a position suitable for the individual golfer, such as, for example, permanently attached to the surface of the club head or it can be inserted into a recess in the club head. The lens may also be removably attached to the club head so that different images may be used when positioning the eyes over the club head and intended target line. More than one lenticular lens may be attached to the club head depending on the number of positioning aids desired.

The lenticular lens may be permanently affixed to the club head or they may be applied as films, coating, labels, printings, embossings, or other means for applying lenticular lenses to surfaces. The lens may also be applied and adjusted depending on a customized used. As an example if a golfer doesn't or can't bend directly over the ball the lens can be angled so that the golfer will be able to know when he or she has obtained the desired position, thereby achieving a consistently repeatable position.

Referring to FIG. 4, a putter head, 44, is shown with the golfer situated in two different positions, 40 and 42. In position 40, the golfer sees indicia 46, while in position 42, the golfer sees indicia 44. The different indicia occur due to the lenticular lens. If the desired position is to be directly on top of the club head, then position 42, seeing indicia 48, is the proper positioning, for example

The lenticular lens can be used on any or all of the clubs in a golfer's bag as each and every club, when used, needs to be positioned and aligned properly to obtain the desired outcome. As shown in FIG. 5, an iron, 50, having a club face, 52, has applied to its top surface a lenticular lens of the current disclosure, 54. The lens may be the same or different depending on the club used. For example, for a driver a material with robust properties is desired as the club head speed of a driver and the impact forces of the driver are large and the lens needs to be unaffected by the clubs performance.

Alternatively, the lens for a putter-type club head does not need to withstand the same forces as the driver and can therefore be made from materials of less strength. The types of club to which the lenticular lenses can be applied are drivers, fairway woods, woods of any loft such as, for example a 5, 7, 9, 13 or other wood, hybrids of all lofts, all irons from 1-9, wedges, such as for example pitching wedges, gap wedges, sand wedges, and flop wedges and the like, chippers, putters, such as blade, mallet, belly putters and other club used in the game of golf.

In other embodiments of the current disclosure are clubs, particularly putters, which have a cavity between the top portion and the sole portion of the club. Many of these types of clubs can be seen being used by players on a golf course. Referring to FIG. 6, the current disclosure claims one or more lenticular lenses, 64, which are inserted into the top portion of the club, 60, while the image, 66, is applied to the top side of the sole portion, separated by the cavity, 62. The lens construction thus needs to be at least optically translucent or transparent so that the indicia may be seen when the desired position is obtained. In this manner, it can be seen than the parameter labeled h in FIG. 2 can become very large allowing for more options in the manufacture and design of the lens.

FIG. 7 show a graphic example wherein the golfer positions him or herself over the top of a putter, in particular over the lenticular lens which is applied to the putter. He continues to move either his head or the putter or both around until he sees the proper indicia, FIG. 7A. At that point he knows he is properly positioned over the putter and he can, YES, putt. If he is not directly on top of the putter, FIG. 7B, then, NO, he is not in the proper position and should to putt.

Further disclosed and claimed herein are methods of putting a golf ball using any putters equipped with a putter head having lenticular lenses as disclosed and claimed herein. The methods combine the steps of obtaining a putter having a lenticular lens as described and claimed in the current disclosure, aligning the putter to the intended target using whatever technique the golfer uses to determine the target line, for example a line, mark, chevron or the like integral to the putter head, and using the at least one lenticular lens to align the golfer's eyes over the putter head and intended target line and putting the golf ball along that line. Still further, once the golfer's eyes are positioned over the putter head and intended target line using the lenticular lens of the current disclosure, he may use that positioning to align the rest of his body; feet, hands, hips, shoulders, and the like. In these methods the golfer will consistently and repeatedly be aligned and positioned properly for every putt he or she will encounter. The number of putting strokes that are attributed to improper alignment and positioning will be concurrently reduced.

The lenticular lens arranged on a putter head may also be used to determine if the putter stroke has actually proceeded along the intended target line. Despite all the effort to align the ball, putter, and golfer's body to an intended target line, if the swinging of the putter is not along the intended target line, then the putt will not provide the intended result. As the putter head moves back away from the ball, along the intended target line, the indicia seen on the lenticular lens will disappear. When the putter head finishes its back swing and proceeds now toward the ball, along the intended target line, the indicia will be visible for a brief moment when the putter head reaches its origin, properly aligned position before proceeding onto the ball and again along the intended target line. If the putting stroke is not along the intended target line the indicia will not be visible for a brief moment during the stroke. 

I claim:
 1. A putter-type club head comprising a body having a face portion, a top portion, a sole portion and a rear portion, further comprising at least one lenticular lens arranged on the top portion of the club head with indicia to allow positioning and alignment when in use.
 2. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein the lenticular lens is capable of undergoing a change indicating that the club user is directly on top of the club head and intended target line, when in use.
 3. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is positioned in a recess in the top surface of the club head.
 4. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is a film, a coating, a label, a printing, or an embossing.
 5. The putter-type golf head of claim 1, wherein the at least one lenticular lens provides for left and right alignment of a golfer's head in relation to the club head and target line, forward or back alignment of the golfer's head in relation to the club head and target line, or both.
 6. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein the at least one lenticular lens reveals differences in colors, logos, images, pictures, geometric shapes, lines, or other indicia or combinations thereof from different viewing angles when in use.
 7. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is removably attached to the club head.
 8. The putter-type club head of claim 1, wherein each of the portions of the club head define a central cavity in at least a part of the top portion revealing at least a part of the sole portion and wherein the at least one lenticular lens is positioned in the top portion of the club head and indicia are printed on the top surface of the sole portion of the club head wherein the indicia can be seen through the lens to allow positional alignment when in use.
 9. A method of putting a golf ball comprising the steps of: a. obtaining a putter comprising a putter-type club head having a face portion, a top portion, a sole portion and a rear portion wherein at least one lenticular lens is arranged on the top portion of the club head, with indicia to allow positional alignment, b. establishing an intended target line, c. positioning the putter head relative to the target line, d. aligning a golfer's eyes over the putter head relative to the target line, to a desired position determined by a display of the indicia through the lenticular lens, and e. putting the golf ball.
 10. The method claim 9, wherein the golfer further aligns his body relative to his eye alignment.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the lenticular lens is capable of undergoing a change indicating that the club user is directly above the club head, when in use.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is positioned in a recess in the top surface of the club head.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is a film, a coating, a label, a printing, or an embossing.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one lenticular lens provides for left and right alignment of a golfer's head in relation to the club head, forward or back alignment of the golfer's head in relation to the club head, or both.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one lenticular lens reveals differences in colors, logos, images, pictures, geometric shapes, lines, or other indicia or combinations thereof from different angles when in use.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one lenticular lens is removably attached to the club head.
 17. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the portions of the club head define a central cavity in at least a part of the top portion revealing at least a part of the sole portion and wherein the at least one lenticular lens is positioned in the top portion of the club head and indicia are printed on the top surface of the sole portion of the club head wherein the indicia can be seen through the lens to allow positional alignment when in use. 